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Foreign Affairs (TV series episode)
Foreign Affairs is the 243rd episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the third episode of Season 11 of the series. Written by David Pollock and Elias Davis, and directed by Charles S. Dubin, it originally aired on November 8, 1982. Synopsis Charles falls in love with a French Red Cross woman but realizes that their lifestyles are not compatible. Hawkeye and B.J. are helping with an army PR stunt in their own way. Full episode summary A French Red Cross volunteer named Martine LeClerc (Melinda Mullins) arrives in camp to visit some the wounded. Everyone takes a shine to her, none more so than Winchester, who seems immediately smitten. Later that night, Margaret and Martine share drinks in the O Club, and Hawkeye immediately tries an all-art charm offensive on Martine. She's polite, but seems indifferent to his advances. She is much more receptive to Winchester, whose class and intelligence immediately charms her. They quickly bond over their mutual love of all things French, leaving Margaret out of the loop. After a few awkward moments, she excuses herself leaving the two of them alone. Winchester and Martine stay up all night talking, into the morning. Martine admits to a love of Spike Jones, which inspires Winchester to loosen up and admit something silly he secretly loves: Tom & Jerry cartoons. Everyone takes notice of the two of them, with Hawkeye and B.J. being kept busy with their own dilemma: one of their patients, a North Korean pilot, is being bribed by oily PR man, Major Reddish (Jeffrey Tambor), to become a turncoat and come to America as a way to "sell" the war to the people back home. When he finds the patient cannot speak English, he brings in a South Korean interpreter, Joon-Sung, to translate the major's offer. The North Korean flatly isn't interested, but the PR man won't take no for an answer. Over the next couple of days, Winchester and Martine's relationship continues to deepen, and Winchester admits he feels as much for Martine as he has felt for anyone in his entire life. Martine admits that she, too, has never felt this way since the death of her beloved Robert. Sharing a bottle of wine in her tent, Winchester and Martine spend the night together. The next day, the two of them go on a picnic, and Martine mentions the one time she posed nude for a painting. When Winchester innocently asks whether her husband Robert minded that, she says since they were never married, there wasn't any sort of jealousy. As she continues her story, Winchester is thrown - he's getting a better sense of how "bohemian" (as he puts it) Martine is. While Martine talks of meeting his family, Winchester is deeply upset. The next night, in the O Club, Winchester is cold and distant to Martine, and she's confused as to the change in his behavior. Back in the Swamp, they talk about it, and Winchester says his family is very "conventional" and would never be able to accept Martine's free-thinking ways. Martine says what matters is whether he can accept her, not his family. He admits that, deep down, he cannot. Deeply saddened, she points out that she's even more sad for him. When Winchester asks why, she mentions that she wasn't attracted to Hawkeye because "He was too much the little boy", but now she sees that Winchester "is not enough of one." She gets up to leave, planting a last gentle kiss on his lips before departing. Major Reddish, meanwhile, is pleased that he finally got the North Korean soldier to go along with the plan. However, as he gets in the jeep to head off, he notices that the man in the back seat wearing a DPRK uniform was not the North Korean soldier, but rather Joon-Sung. Hawkeye and B.J. sell him as the perfect option: he wants to go, he'll smile and wave in every parade, speaks great English, and loves all things American. Furthermore, Joon-Sung is not a combat soldier, has no family, and - like many in the ROK military - is a draftee and would welcome getting out. At first, Reddish is not keen on the idea, refusing to lie about the "enemy turncoat". However, the news about the PR campaign had already hit American shores, and Reddish instead decides to claim success and take the elated Joon-Sung back to the states as a war hero. Meanwhile, the North Korean pilot is on the way to a POW camp - with a new American suit, the one gift Major Reddish offered him that he actually wanted. Trivia * The occurrence of a North Korean pilot defecting did happen, but not until September 21, 1953, two months after the Korean War Armistice was signed in July 1953. * This episode uses the same opening sequence as Sons and Bowlers. Recurring/Guest cast *Jeffrey Tambor as Major Reddish *Melinda Mullins as Martine LeClerc *Soon-Tek Oh as Joon-Sung (as Soon-Teck Oh) *Byron Chung as Lt. Chong-Wa Park *Buddy Farmer as M.P. *Pat Romano as French Soldier (as Patrick Romano) *Jo Ann Thompson as Nurse Jo Ann (as Joann Thompson) *Dennis Troy as Corpsman Category:Season 11 episodes